Haircare After Pregnancy

Many symptoms come and go during pregnancy, some to be expected and others which may come as a bit of a surprise, and the topic I'm discussing today is one that definitely came as a surprise to me - hair loss after pregnancy.

During the course of both my pregnancies my hair became very soft, wispy and very easy to get a brush through and during my second pregnancy my hair grew like wildfire and it's now the longest it's ever been.

However, once both my pregnancies had ended and all those pregnancy hormones settled down, once again my hair became a bit of a nightmare, becoming unmanageable, knotty and very dry. After having Beau I've also noticed another problem with my hair - it's falling out, a lot.

I can't go through the day without finding strands of hair all over my clothes, all over the house and it comes out quite easily even just by running my fingers through it. I even spotted strands today all over my freshly washed clothes whilst hanging them on the line... So I'm sure you can imagine the damage being done to it when I put a brush through it.

Just to reassure anyone experiencing this, hair loss after pregnancy is perfectly normal and is nothing to be embarrassed about at all. However, if your hair loss is severe and it's beginning to become a major issue for you, like this former ballerina who's hair fell out from having it tied up too tight, then there are procedures which can help, such as hair transplants, a procedure which she availed of. If this is a route you'd like to look into then you can check out the FUE hair transplant cost to see if it's an option for you.

Since having Beau I've been doing some things to try and get my hair back in good condition and to try and minimise and combat the hair loss too and I thought I'd share them today for any other ladies who may be experiencing this too.

1. Keep up with the vitamins and supplements
During pregnancy everyone is advised to take pre-natal vitamins and everyone does their best to keep up with them as it's good for their baby, however, after baby is born and the busyness and tiredness of having a newborn kicks in, taking our vitamins and supplements may fall to the wayside. I've been trying hard to keep up with mine and can see the benefits to my hair, skin and nails from taking them. It's a small thing to do each day but it really does help.

2. Deep condition your hair twice a week
Anytime I have a day when I know I'm going to be at home cleaning or whatever, I put a deep conditioner in my hair and leave it in while I'm getting everything done. I then wash it out and my hair feels silky smooth. Doing this also makes my hair less dry and this is something which my hair has struggled with since I gave birth. My favourite deep conditioner is Lush's Marilyn - it works miracles!

3. Lay off the heat
Styling my hair isn't something I get to do very often anyway, what with the school runs and sorting out the boys, but this is good news for my hair as it means it isn't getting heat damaged. I let my hair dry naturally and then just style it with some mousse or volumising dry shampoo and I'm good to go. The less heat the better.

4. Brush gently and use a Tangle Teezer
Before I had my babies I used to brush my hair with a barrel brush - what was I thinking?! I've since switched to a Tangle Teezer and it was one of the best things I could have done for my hair. I use my Tangle Teezer in the shower to help rinse my hair of conditioner and it really works to not pull my hair and contribute even more to the hair loss. If you're not a Tangle Teezer fan then using a wide-toothed comb is the best option for not pulling on your hair.

5. Find the right products for your hair
I found that after pregnancy, products that once worked for my hair, no longer did. The shampoo and conditioner I used to use just made it look greasy on top and extremely dry at the ends and I'm not going to lie, it was a real case of trial and error finding products which now worked for me. I now use Aussie shampoo and conditioner and these have been great for my hair. I can't lie though, if I had the money I'd be using Lush's Rub Rub Rub on my hair as it's a miracle worker. The €20+ a tub just isn't an option at the moment though...

Have you experienced hair loss after pregnancy?